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Dangerous Black Porche in Los Trancos woods

I was driving up Los Trancos the other day with my 5 year old son, when a sleek, new black Porche with a 40's white male came tearing up behind me in my Honda civic. Now if my Honda civic could go any faster I would have sped up to try and accommodate, but instead he tears past me going somewhere around 60-70 over the double yellow line with a car coming down the road in the opposite lane. I swerve to the side nearly crashing into the railing.

I then am out on a walk with my son today at 9am going towards the Blue Oaks walking space. I see the same car in question with the same man in question. I stay on the side of the road with my son and tell him bluntly he can go first as he almost killed us the other day by running us off the road. I then am barraged by him telling me what a horrible influence I am on my son for telling him in so many words I didn't appreciate the way he drives around here. He tells me I need to pull over next time in one of the many turn offs on Los Trancos? Well, Im sorry I don't have a $200,000 car but not all of us can afford to be such a rich and oblivious person. I'm assuming he is obviously more important then most of us since he doesn't really care for anyone else's welfare on the road if it interferes with him driving the speed he wants to. This is not to put all wealthy people in a lump group. I have many friends that are very well off that have nothing but consideration for others and actually think before they act.

This post was mostly to vent out my frustration instead of taking it out on this gentleman, as I really should consider the source of the comments. This man seems to be one of the 4% who just doesnt care about anyone but himself and I need to remember that. Nothing said will change how this man feels or acts because he is so consumed by his own ego. That being said, Im not a perfect person and am guilty of my own falut's and mistakes, but I can see clearly enough to know when I am at fault and admit my mistakes. I could have approached this man in a more polite manner, but it was difficult when you and the one thing you cherish more than life itself are put in danger by someone who could care less. So if you know who this guy is and have a good relationship with him or are maybe related to him, maybe you can mention to him that we would all like to be safe up here and it would be really cool if he could keep his race car driving to a race track. Thanks

P.S. To whomever put up the list of dead pets hit by cars on the corner of Los Trancos and Ramona, you may want to look under this guys car.

Posted by POGO
a resident of Woodside: other
on Oct 6, 2012 at 10:22 am

I'm sorry that you and your son had to experience such a jerk... and I thank you for bringing this to the attention of Almanac readers!

But this has nothing to do with the rich, the entitled, Porsche drivers, residents of Portola Valley or even "the 4%" which in your frustration you understandably suggest. Irresponsible drivers come in all genders, shapes, cars, styles, horsepowers, sizes, colors and wealth. They even come on bicycles as avid readers of this web site know.

You should get this person's license tag and report him to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Department. In the absence of a license tag, you can probably approximate this person's address from the streets you have seen him driving. I assure you that your local deputy will take care of this promptly and effectively.

You are 100% correct. I apologize if it came off that way, but was not trying to insinuate that all wealthy people drive like that. I meant the 4% (roughly) that is contained in ALL groups of people no matter their race, social status, gender or anything else. There are bad apples in every group.

I even said:"This is not to put all wealthy people in a lump group. I have many friends that are very well off that have nothing but consideration for others and actually think before they act."

My best friend is a Porche driver, but he keeps his craziness to race tracks and the Autobahn! Hahahahaha.

I agree with you wholeheartedly and appreciate the advice. Thank you kindly

Im sorry I said anything at all. I hate to bad mouth people, but it was just so frustrating having someone care so little for the welfare of your kids over something as simple as just slowing down a bit.

Posted by call the police
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Oct 6, 2012 at 3:16 pm

Call the police if you witness extremely reckless driving, especially if you have the vehicle description and license plate number. They may not be able to make an arrest based on your statement alone, but they can correlate multiple statements or even have a sit down meeting with the driver to prevent further incidents from occurring. Obviously, this kind of reckless driving can easily lead to fatalities so the cops have some motivation to stop it.

Posted by POGO
a resident of Woodside: other
on Oct 7, 2012 at 10:32 am

Reporting a reckless driver to the Sheriff does two things.

First, it puts this person's driving "on the record." In the unfortunate event of an accident, it might be useful for a plaintiff to note that there have been many prior reports of reckless driving by the defendant.

Second, the Sheriff will definitely send a deputy to this person's home and notify them of the complaint. That can have some impact - it will certainly have an impact if the Sheriff ever catches this driver in the future.

Posted by Hmmm
a resident of another community
on Oct 7, 2012 at 10:02 pm

Yep, Peter's right- you don't need to pull over for every person behind you. There's a reason the law says 5. And of course, you have to be able to pull over safely to let them pass & that's not always possible.

Posted by ding
a resident of Atherton: other
on Oct 8, 2012 at 12:26 am

Right. You are not required to pull over, but it is a sensible thing to do anyway when a nice car suddenly shows up behind you. I mean one should check it out from all angles, and then when he passes you, you want to show your son what these can do (and if a guy driving is a jerk, perhaps explaining that not all drivers of nice machinery are jerks), and of course this avoids problems if the guy is in whatever hurry or is a genuine jerk or whatever.. Now, if the car is black maybe it is not so nice, unless it is a batman inside :)

Posted by Donald
a resident of another community
on Oct 8, 2012 at 7:57 am

Peter is not quite correct. What he claimed was the law was some paraphrasing, perhaps from the driver's handbook. While it accurately captures the intent of the law, it is wrong to cite that quote as being the CVC. The true text of the law is below, and it emphasizes safety. The law never requires you to compromise safety for someone's convenience.

21656. On a two-lane highway where passing is unsafe because of
traffic in the opposite direction or other conditions, a slow-moving
vehicle, including a passenger vehicle, behind which five or more
vehicles are formed in line, shall turn off the roadway at the
nearest place designated as a turnout by signs erected by the
authority having jurisdiction over the highway, or wherever
sufficient area for a safe turnout exists, in order to permit the
vehicles following it to proceed. As used in this section a
slow-moving vehicle is one which is proceeding at a rate of speed
less than the normal flow of traffic at the particular time and
place.

Posted by bubbles
a resident of Atherton: West Atherton
on Oct 8, 2012 at 8:12 am

So some of you actually believe that the rest of us should kowtow to expensive cars (and their rude drivers)? I know there are a lot of self-centered, self-indulgent people in this area, but that goes beyond the pale. Just because some of us prefer to invest our wealth in assets that don't depreciate does not mean that we are lesser beings. Drivers who have such poor impulse control that they need to exceed the speed limit and endanger the lives of others should not be imperiling those of us who obey the speed limit and other driving laws.

Posted by POGO
a resident of Woodside: other
on Oct 8, 2012 at 12:58 pm

As usual, several posters are talking right past one another.

If you happen to be driving slowly on one of these roads - that is, driving slower than normal, flowing traffic in that area at that time - and there are cars behind you, simply pull over when safe and convenient and let others pass you. It doesn't matter if you are being followed by one or by five cars or if they are driving a Ferrari or a Prius.

And, in no event does this mean that anyone has permission to speed on our narrow, curvy, hilly roads. Ever.

Posted by Tailgated Often
a resident of Woodside: other
on Oct 8, 2012 at 2:09 pm

I have to sympathise with the complainer with Honda because I get tailgated often by brash young new fancy car owners in a hurry to prove that they are God's gift to mankind !! no we are following the Speed limit and we do not need to pull over if 5 cars are tailgating to speed up because I will be the one getting a speeding ticket.

Posted by Anonymous
a resident of Woodside: Kings Mountain/Skyline
on Oct 8, 2012 at 9:11 pm

I was driving on the 84 just west of Skyline on Sunday and a Porsche, driver not noted, zoomed past me on the double yellow arounda turn. If they crash an oncoming car, I would have not had time to stop and it could have been a pile up or a car off the cliff. When the police are contacted, they do not patrol the roads. They only patrol the main ones, like Alpine and Portola. It is a case of a reckless driver setting a bad example for Porsche owners. I do have a Porsche and drive it when not driving the kids, but no worries, one day a deer will stand in his tracks and he will learn.

Posted by 84 Driver
a resident of another community
on Oct 9, 2012 at 5:19 pm

There is a reason there is a double yellow line. It is not legal to pass across a double yellow line. Mr. Porsche, regardless of his income or sense of privilege would be well advised to learn the virtue of patience before he kills himself and someone else.

Posted by Maggie
a resident of Woodside: Woodside Hills
on Oct 11, 2012 at 8:19 am

I'm still trying to figure out why the original post refers to the reckless driver who illegally passed on a double yellow, as a "gentleman"??? Not once, but twice. The behavior described is not "gentlemanly". Thanks for posting though!

Posted by AW
a resident of another community
on Oct 11, 2012 at 8:40 am

I've had a few experiences with an out of control driver along El Camino in Menlo Park/Atherton in the mornings. He has a personalized license plate so he's easy to spot. It's really unfortunate when inconsiderate drivers affect our day.

Just to be clear, I AM the original poster. I did get his lic # and did report it to the SMC Sherrif. To the others, I would have pulled over had he given me one second of chance. By the time I saw him he was flying by me in the opposite lane. Im not above pulling over if Im driving slow or even at a slower pace then someone may like no matter what the laws say, but he did not give me the option. And yes, Susan, the 4% was a made up stat, I was trying to give the human race a better chance than 1%, but AW is correct. I was just referring to the small group of"bad apples" in EVERY group

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